A record number of people donated organs after their death in 2018, according to figures from the Dutch Transplant Foundation (NTS).

In total 273 people who died donated organs, out of 336 who were registered donors. The number of transplants was 815, a 15% increase on the previous year.

There was a slight fall in the number of living donors, from 561 to 522. Living organ donations nearly always involve kidneys.

The NTS said a change in the rules on tissue donation to allow tissue to be taken from people who had suffered blood poisoning was partly responsible for the increase. Last year 2398 people donated tissue such as skin and bones, which is used in almost half of all transplants.

Bernadette Haasse, director of the NTS, said: ‘Although the growth in organ and tissue transplants is a very hopeful development, we are still not there. There are still people dying because they don’t receive an organ in time.’